Oil Rush: naval strategy game

Oil Rush is a tower defense real-time strategy game developed by Unigine Corp using their Unigine engine technology.[2] Set in a flooded, post-apocalyptic world, the game consists of players fighting over control of the world’s last remaining oil reserves.[3] The game was released as a digital download for Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.[4] This theme has been viewed as controversial by some, especially as Oil Rush was originally intended to be released only a little more than a year after the much publicized Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[5] The game itself actually delivers an environmental warning message, with Unigine’s CEO Denis Shergin commenting that “Fuel devouring armies that fight over the last drops of oil and pollute already trashed world is nothing but doublethink. That is a warning environmental message we’d like to deliver in a single-player campaign.”[6]

GNU/Linux

Apple Mac OS X

It’s a little odd to play a game as pretty as Oil Rush, yet spend a majority of the time staring at a minimap that takes up a small percentage of the screen. The gameplay revolves around attacking and defending nodes to expand and diversify your army, in the same vein as something like Galcon. Because of restrictions on movement and unit control, decisions about what to move and when aren’t especially difficult to make, and despite the simplicity it’s still satisfying when you manage to steer your forces in the right direction to capture a key node and secure a victory. The game’s random elements are a source of frustration, however, and the single-player mode is a bore. In Oil Rush’s Waterworld-like fictional universe the earth is covered with water and everyone fights over oil. Every combat map is dotted with nodes that specialize in automatically pumping out Piranha jet skis or Stingray attack helicopters or battleships. The more nodes you have under your control, the larger your army will be and the more swiftly you can replenish losses. After a match begins, you race against your opponents for control of these nodes by sending out your accumulated army. Each unit type has specific advantages. Flying units can pass over exposed land to easily access any node on the map. The Piranha are produced quickly, though they can be blown up just as quickly. Scouting is important in this regard, as it means the difference between soaring in planes to snatch an empty node or flying them directly into heavily defended territory.

8Overall Score

Graphics:8/10

Features:6/10

Gameplay:7/10

Game is fairly easy to install, got good visuals and a solid gameplay

The system requirement of (closed source)game are pretty serious. And learning curve is pretty steep.